Has coddling destroyed a generation?

One of the most common conversations among educators these days is the rising tide of anxiety and depression among young people. This disturbing trend comes at a time when schools are already being asked to do more and more academically, and these two factors are creating a perfect storm that we are having difficulty navigating. And so we are seeing ideas like grit, resilience, social-emotional learning, and trauma-sensitivity being offered up as possible solutions, and this new book by Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, The Coddling of the American Mind.

The basic premise of the book is that by protecting our children and students from everything from peanuts to opposing viewpoints, we have crippled our college campuses and created a mental health crisis among teens and young adults. The book is definitely worth a read. The increasing prevalence of anxiety and depression among young people is something I deal with every day, and it's clear that something has gone wrong on college campuses when speakers are being "disinvited" simply for holding opposing political viewpoints.

I also see overparenting as a major issue. It's a constant struggle as a parent to keep from overprotecting your kids from failures and consequences, and the same goes for running a school. What is needed is an authoritative approach, with clear rules and consequences and a focus on support, rather than a permissive or authoritarian approach. Coddling is a good reminder that we do damage by not allowing our kids to experience difficulty. I always viewed parenting as repeatedly casting my kids out and reeling them back in. 

But while I think the book makes important contributions to the discussion, I also think it muddies the waters a bit. The authors are huge fans of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), and they noticed that some of the cognitive errors targeted by CBT are similar to logical errors being made, in their opinions, by parents, schools, students and universities that are overprotecting kids. From there, they built their case that overzealous censorship at universities and the mental health crisis were symptoms of the same cause--what they call the "3 Great Untruths."

1. What doesn't kill me makes me weaker
2. Always trust your feelings
3. Us vs. them

While I agree that these are dangerous errors, I think this greatly oversimplifies the problem. From my perspective as an administrator, overzealous protectionism at schools has little to do with ideology or philosophy and everything to to with protecting ourselves from litigation. But that is a minor issue compared to the question of what is causing the mental health crisis.

The authors themselves mention some other possible causes of rising anxiety and depression, such as screen time (citing Jean Twenge's book, iGen). Sarah Rose Cavanagh has questioned the role of screen time, but suggested several other possible causes, including the decline of "face-to-face social communities" and economic inequality, just to name a few.

Human psychology is complex, and the changes taking place in our society are profound. Take, for example, the massive cultural shift that has been under way in our whole worldview as a society. I just finished listening to The Denial of Death by Ernest Becker. This classic lays out Becker's theory of what happens when you strip the dominant religious worldview from a culture. Who knows but that we are also seeing those types of effects today among young people?

We live in a world that has become a whitewater rapid of change--technologically, culturally, economically, you name it. Anyone growing up in such a world as this would be understandably prone to anxiety, just as much as they would if they were born in the midst of a river rafting trip.

I think our best bet in supporting them is to do just that--support them with research based practices and provide high expectations backed up by high levels of relational and academic supports. Allowing them to experience consequences is part of this, but my concern with this book is that is reflects a movement to discount the massive changes taking place today and their impact on kids. Kids today have to be tougher, in my opinion, than I had to be growing up. It means we have to be there for them even more than ever, casting them out into the whitewater and reeling them back in again, again and again.

A day in the life of a chem teacher at E. O. Smith

I don't write as much about my #chemistry classes.

But that's just because I haven't been doing as much experimenting with them: The flipped model I'm using this year in chem is essentially unchanged from last year.

But that doesn't excuse my neglect of writing them up, because every day with them is just as cool as with my biology kids, though I have no doubt it'd be even cooler if I tried out the project- and mastery-based approach with them as well.

Today is a case in point.

Our lab: Flinn's Micro-Mole Rockets lab. Students make mixtures of hydrogen and oxygen gas in plastic pipette bulbs, light them with a match, and rate the loudness of the pop. Then we launch them like rockets with a Tesla coil. (I'll have to get some photos tomorrow.)

And they'll use the data to confirm the ratio at which hydrogen and oxygen react to form water (2:1, H2O).

It's an elegant method they use, involving a constant total amount of gas while only varying the ratio of gases. it's called the method of continuous variation.

And they have been progressing beautifully this year in their attention to detail and controlling their variables, and they never cease to amaze me with their inquisitiveness ("What makes the hydrogen react with the oxygen?") and their energy for life.

As I walked around the room, hydrogen and oxygen popping together like firecrackers, my student teacher (a Ph.D. biochemist and veteran pharmaceutical researcher) helping them launch their rockets, and a steady chorus of "Dr. Green?" requests for assistance keeping me moving, I was distracted by one student telling stories of mermaids and Jason the Argonaut, and another accusing Thomas Edison of being the greatest villain of history, and I was laughing.

Laughing because of the intellectual and creative energy that burned in there like a fire inside and between them all.

Exageration?

Maybe. But I don't think so.

Some see teens as narcissistic, annoying and who knows what else. I prefer to see them for what they are: The most creative and energetic stage of the most amazing species on the planet in a most amazing universe.

Taming teenage psychic entropy: Flow and school, part 3.

"Lifestyles built on pleasure survive only in symbiosis with complex cultures based on hard work and enjoyment. But when the culture is no longer able or willing to support unproductive hedonists, those addicted to pleasure, lacking skills and discipline and therefore unable to fend for themselves, find themselves lost and helpless." 

-Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Flow

This is how the famous psychologist and originator of the flow concept wrapped up his section on the importance of being able to "tame solitude"--to use time alone constructively and enjoyably by filling it with flow-generating experiences.

This is not easy, but it is critical, and more so every day in our increasingly information-based society, where literacy and mastery if information are becoming absolutely essential. Which is why it's so critical we help young people to master this as early as possible. In Csikszentmihalyi's words:

"Learning to use time alone, instead of escaping from it, is especially important in out early years. Teenagers who can't bear solitude disqualify themselves from later carrying out adult tasks that require serious mental preparation. A typical scenario familiar to many parents involves a teenager who comes back from school, drops the books in his bedroom, and after taking a snack from the refrigerator immediately heads for the phone to get in touch with his friends (My update for 2014: takes his phone out of his pocket and opens Snapchat). If there is nothing going on there, he will turn on the stereo (My update: pop in his earbuds) or the TV (update: or PS4)."

Of course, this could just as easily be describing an adult, but let's continue..

"If by any chance he is tempted to open a book, the resolve is unlikely to last long. To study means to concentrate on difficult patterns of information (emphasis mine), and sooner or later even the most disciplined mind drifts away from the relentless templates on the page to pursue more pleasant thoughts. But it is difficult to summon up pleasant thoughts at will. Instead, ones mind typically is besieged by the usual visitors: the shadowy phantoms that intrude on the unstructured mind."

Again, teens are not alone in this struggle. That's what the #mindfulness movement is all about. The struggle is the same, though the content of worries may differ:

"The teenager begins to worry about his looks, his popularity, his chances in life (Me: Wait, did I say my worries were different? Hmm...). To repel these intrusions he must find something else to occupy his consciousness. Studying won't do, because it is too difficult. The adolescent is ready to do almost anything to take his mind off this situation--provided it does not take too much psychic energy. The usual solution is to turn back to the familiar routine of music (Mine was Pink Floyd), TV, or a friend with whom to while the time away."

Amazingly insightful passage, I think. Makes me think about how I can help my students learn the skills they need to focus and study independently. Right now I'm honing in on two key phrases of Csikszentmihalyi:

1. "To study means to concentrate on difficult patterns of information," and
2. "Studying won't do, because it is too difficult."

Can we scaffold this process of learning to concentrate and study by providing simple tasks at first for them to master independently, like rote memorization, and slowly working up to more difficult tasks, like reading for information, summarization, independent analysis, application, and evaluation?

In any case, as teachers and parents, we can't assume they already have these skills. heck, we can't assume we have them. And there's a lot at stake here.

What looks like laziness...

"What looks like resistance is often a lack of clarity...
What looks like laziness is often exhaustion...
What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem."

-Chip & Dan Heath, Switch

These three keys to driving change have become my mantra as a teacher.

And number 2 comes home especially strongly every Friday.

When I find myself reacting to students' apparent lack of motivation, especially on Fridays, I have to remind myself how ready I am for the weekend. I have to ask myself if it's realistic for me to expect them to be as driven as I am.

I have to ask myself if it's realistic to be as driven as I am, period.

The power of a teenager

For years I have been telling my students about their potential--that they are selling themselves short, that they can accomplish so much more than we adults give them credit for--than they give themselves credit for. I tell them stories about Ben Franklin, Oprah Winfrey, and Richard Branson, examples of teens who didn't wait until they were "grown up" to get started on their dreams.

I want to tell you about one of my former students who embodies that ideal. She was in my biology class two years ago. She did well, but her heart was elsewhere. Her passion was fashion, and she had tremendous independence and initiative. She decided to withdraw from her brick-and-mortar high school and enrol in an online high school so she would have more flexibility. She literally began working the New York City fashion scene at 16, modelling, styling, blogging and reporting.

I had run across her posts and blogs on Twitter, and was amazed at the maturity, creativity, and insight she showed. She's not only a great writer, but she has such a unique personality and voice that it's no wonder she's been published on Parade, Lucky, Rachael Ray, and HuffPo Teen. Her awesome fashion blog website is a model of style, authenticity, and electric energy.

It takes real discipline, courage and grit to successfully leap from traditional schooling to an independent online education. No teachers constantly reminding you of what must be done, telling you what notes to take, and spoon-feeding you information.  You're on your own. It takes real independence and self-discipline to pull off online education. (That's why it sometimes gets a bad rap.) She has not only done it, but done it well, and all while building a real career, one many adults would envy, while in her teens.

I don't tell my students that they have tremendous potential despite their age. I tell them they have tremendous potential, especially because of their age. Creativity and energy are at their peak before age 30. It's exciting to see a young person taking her abilities seriously, taking real risks, doing real things, in the real world, with such charisma, originality, and power.

I had a blog once called Escape Adolescence. It was devoted to helping teens see their real potential. Alexa didn't need me to tell her. She had a clear vision, a clear passion, and the grit and courage to make it happen. I wish her all the best, but I don't think she needs my wishes.

A flat classroom

I want my classroom to be flat.

Not flat as in boring or bland, but flat in terms of hierarchy and structure. I want to treat my students as young adults, as equals, as human beings. We're on the same level. I am their coach, not their master.

Seth Godin talks about a big corporation where plant workers were forbidden from using the same bathroom the executives used. This sort of hierarchical caste structure kills motivation and misses out on the benefits of collaboration and the synergy that can result when everyone contributes as equals. What's true for corporations is true for any organization, even a classroom or school.


In recent years, I've been starting my courses in September by telling my students, "Please do not ask to go to the bathroom--just go." I think it's dehumanizing for young adults to have to ask permission to relieve themselves. I forgot to tell them that this year. We'll fix that this week.

I'm aiming to do less talking at them and more talking with them, more sitting by them and less presiding over them, more getting to know them and less getting them to do what I want.

This year, my goal is to stop trying to motivate my students with threats of consequences, or even with grades, and instead provide autonomy, mastery, and purpose. In other words, motivate them the way I would try to motivate adults-- the way I would like to be motivated.

A flat organization can't rely on threats and punishments. Those things are for  hierarchies, and they are destroyers of real, intrinsic motivation (and happiness).

A flat classroom is my goal because what works in life should work in school.

Bitcoin for teens

Ever heard of bitcoin? It's the hip cryptocurrency that made headlines earlier this year when it's value jumped from $30 per BTC to $230 in about two months, before it crashed abruptly to $60 (as I write this it's at $116). Its price continues to be volatile, but that's no reason to shun it, especially for teenagers. It's their escape from financial adolescence.

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